Forty-five years ago, Nelson Mandela made the following opening statement at his trial:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

He was sentenced to prison, where he spent the next 27 years. He would later say: “In my country we go to prison first and then become President.”

Mr. Mandela is what I consider a true hero. Always, always, he is on the side of justice and also mercy, of truth and also love. On education, he makes a strong and true point.

“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”